High school students are battling it out in a series of regional finals as the NSW Junior Secondary Speaking Awards build towards the state final at Parliament House in October.

Eleven finalists competed for the Western Sydney title at Parramatta this week, representing schools including Blacktown Girls High School, Baulkham Hills High School, Parramatta Marist High School and Penrith High School.

The regional final was won by Aanya Maharaj, a Year 9 student from The Ponds High School.

Her speech, 'A Grandmother's Hands', focused on the loss of cultural heritage in an age of artificial intelligence.

Aanya said she had refined delivery of her five-minute prepared speech since winning her local final.

"I had a more sentimental approach this time. Last time I had a more aggressive 'why it's bad' approach, and I think that did make a difference," she said.

"When you hear yourself say it, I think you can tell it's going to resonate with the people listening."

Aanya said she felt most comfortable in the competition's impromptu round, where speakers are given a small amount of time to prepare a two-minute speech on an unseen topic.

"It's less daunting because nobody knows what they're doing," she said.

"Having that thing where everybody is equally as clueless as me is really, really helpful. It's a level playing field."

State competition coordinator Fiona Smee said the standard across this year's regional finals had been exceptional.

"Every regional final has shown just how strong junior public speaking is across NSW schools," she said.

"The preparation, research and confidence these students bring to both their prepared and impromptu speeches keeps raising the bar, and it means the state final is shaping up to be one of the most competitive we've seen."

The regional winners will come together at NSW Parliament House on Monday 19 October for the state final.

The 2026 Junior Secondary Speaking Award is proudly supported by ACCO Brands Australia.